cats are always going places together valued as a gem of africa nairobi has gone through many changes over the past decades. to al-jazeera travels to the kenyan capital to hear from those who witnessed the city's progress to becoming a metropolis and discusses where it's heading now at this time on al-jazeera. al-jazeera is a very important source of information for many people around the world when all the cameras are gone i'm still here go into areas that nobody else is going to talk to people that nobody else is talking to and bringing that story to the forefront. for the u.s. to impose a natural they want the u.s. secretary of state calls on g.c.c.

countries to find a solution to the gulf crisis but one saudi arabia is not yet ready to begin talks with doha. out of there are watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up. reelected now the japanese prime minister ways to see if he has sufficient support to reform the pacifist constitution. the world health organization backtracks on its appointment of the ball boys president robert mugabe as a goodwill ambassador. and hero or tyrants a fresh examination of the legacy of france's former leader napoleon. hello the us secretary of state is warning that saudi arabia is not yet ready to begin direct talks with doha. to resolve the gulf crisis rex tillerson was speaking

in castle hours after meeting the saudi leaders he said it wasn't for the u.s. to impose a solution gulf countries had to find one themselves. with respect to the talks getting underway yes i did in my meetings with the crown prince mohammed bin salman asked him to please and gauge the place and gauge in dialogue. there is not a strong indication that parties are ready to talk yet. and so we cannot force talks upon people who are not ready to talk so there has been no invitation to the white house because it's not clear that parties are ready to engage and we're going to continue to work towards that dialogue and towards that engagement. that uses is quite simple isn't full of the collective security and feel sort of that he says it would be the victim of this crisis again this is the state of qatar

and this has affected directly the collective security of the decency because of the behavior of the blockading trade is. sees a meeting of the g.c.c. will constitute a golden chance you know to start the dialogue and the civilized way according to the civilized diplomatic well known chad was a serious car spun a particle news conference. somewhat unusual many were expecting a much different tone from u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson when he arrived in the region that's because he gave an interview before he left where he basically changed things up he pointed at the saudi led coalition and said they are the reason for the impasse that cookie cutter was happy to negotiate but they were simply refusing so when he got here to

saudi arabia he really didn't send any start strong signals and then when he came to qatar it was much of the same he said that they asked the saudis to please sit down and negotiate but that they didn't think they were ready he said if they feel like they're ready they're ready to sit down and talk well then the u.s. would be happy to have them all come to washington or somewhere else it down and facilitate to facilitate that negotiation basically say we can't impose our will on any of these countries now i think a lot of analysts would tell you of course the u.s. has the ability to impose their will on the east critical allies if they felt like it they do have some leverage secretary of state works tillerson making it clear here in qatar he has no intention of doing that at least not yet. well andreas craig is an assistant professor of defense studies at king's college london and he's with me here in the studio good to see andreas there since this is not for the u.s. to force the saudis to speak to katter but behind the scenes how much pressure do you think the u.s. is applying to the saudis we've seen a shift of policy over the last couple of weeks initially the u.s.

was kind of trying to engage trying to sweet talk to both sides say let's let's go and sit together let's mediate now i mean the last two weeks we've seen a completely different approach one which is a lot more coercive the americans have tried to pull some of the levers that they have one of them being military corporations saying that we will stop any joint exercises with the g.c.c. putting particular pressure on saudi in the u.a.e. considering that they've still held similar kind of exercises last week with the country armed forces and then obviously there's a lot of narrative coming out in media reports you know i mean he's given a lot of interviews to us and putting pressure saying you know the countries have done their part now it's up to saudi in the u.a.e. which is kind of a direct hit. riyadh and i would be so there is pressure is on but there's only that much you can do what could that the u.s. be doing anymore would it not want to do things because it doesn't obviously want to affect its relations specifically with the saudis it's a it's a quite it's you know it's a dilemma because on the one hand they need the g.c.c.

they need saudi they need the u.a.e. they need qatar to to work on their policy against iran to work on their policy against extremism ice's but at the same time they do need is united g.c.c. doesn't you know it's not it's not of any use if you work with every country individually so i think it's very important not to alienate these different countries but at the same time trying to bring them together and that it's quite difficult because you know there's one other lever that they were talking about possibly you know withdrawing support for the yemen operation saudi and u.a.e. let yemen operation but i think that is that would be an escalation way beyond the threshold way beyond what is actually possible at this point because that will completely only enable the. the relationship also considering this the u.s. needs saudi arabia the us needs the u.a.e. you know this is a mutually dependent relationship this this is not the one nine hundred eighty s. and one nine hundred ninety s. when the u.a.e. and saudi were on one side of the of the of the of the coin and they were they needed the united states as a protector times of change the u.s. now need the g.c.c. as much as the g.c.c. needs the u.s.

so you know there's only that much they can do really and what do you think about president trump and secretary of state tell us then are they in harmony now about the policies that they are producing they are pursuing rather in the middle east because we've seen this sort of differentials in the past you think there are actually as one now not as one exactly i mean we have seen matters until us and they know qatar they know how other countries work there and understand the country's foreign and security policy they understand the country concerns and on the other hand you have the white house is not just donald trump is also his close advisors in particular questioner who himself you know because of his background has quite a critical view towards can't i you know he's coming out of a pro israel anti qatar n.t. hamas kind of environment and he's pushing back a little bit but nonetheless trump said and he has realized there why does this realize that if they want to move forward against iran if they want to move forward against islam ism extremism and dyce they do need the united g.c.c. front iran and i think they do speak with one voice but you know with this u.s.

administration you never know what's going to come next because you know there might be the next tweet that will tell you the opposite unpredictable is the word i think we were. good to have you with us thank you so much thank you. now japan's prime minister shinzo abbé has swept to victory in a snap election after promising to toughen his stance on north korea and revive the economy partial results they are ruling coalition has already won two hundred sixty four seats that easily surpasses a simple majority in the four hundred sixty five seat parliament but abyei is in fact hoping for a two thirds super majority to push through his agenda and for that he needs at least three hundred ten seats exit polls have put him on track for that would have a constitution limits the military to being a self defense force after its defeat in the second world war abyei says that law is a relic of the past and having a supermajority will help him change the constitution and develop

a fully fledged army al-jazeera sarah clarke reports now from tokyo. it's a remarkable turnaround for japan's prime minister played by corruption scandals sheens o.-r. by end his coalition party run shaky ground last month but on election day there were favorites to win reelection and an exit poll predicted the liberal democratic party would secure a parliamentary majority a coalition partner lost several seats but she looks set to become japan's longest serving leader since world war two. two newly formed political parties filed to oust an exit poll says the party of hope led by the popular governor of tokyo rica quake it will win up to fifty nine seats and the constitutional democratic party looks set to win even more making it the largest opposition party in japan's lower house not enough to challenge overwhelming majority the opposition itself

doesn't share or unifying ideology it doesn't really share unifying policy platform and if they did manage to develop a credible narrative of being a better alternative than the current government even though the current cabinet is not that popular vote here in japan is not compulsory at the last election about fifty percent of eligible voters turned out but we're talking land living with conditions the public has been encouraged to vote early and i have already about fifteen percent have been to the polls before the official election day this day it's protectionist that this election may see a higher voter turnout by mid-afternoon heavy rain sitting in with flooding in some areas organizers predicted the lowest voter turnout for the third consecutive lower house elections. are basic you is a two thirds majority that will deliver him the mandate to reform the pacifist

constitution and allow japan's forces to play a more active role the issue has divided voter opinion on the one that i support constitutional change i want him to go right ahead with it and. i hope there won't be any wars because i have a baby although things are very different from the past i'm still worried. at a time of regional uncertainty and escalating tensions with north korea opinion polls indicate voters choosing stability this time around given shinzo abyei and his ruling party a third term in power. sirrah clarke al-jazeera tokyo a u.s. sparks rebel group has captured syria's largest oil field from i saw the kurdish led syrian democratic forces are in a race against the russian backed syrian troops the things parts of the oil rich there as a region yes yes have already pushed eisel from the areas main natural gas field and the city of rocker after a four month campaign well as the war in syria continues

a growing number of children are being forced to find work to help support their families tens of thousands of children are missing out on an education. reporter how tight in southern turkey. where our show is from it town in northern homes the area has been besieged for almost four years by government forces but collects plastic waste not to resell for recycling but to burn during cold days so that his family can survive harsh winter conditions in nor did i want to go to school and become a teacher or maybe a doctor i just want to be with my friends. is a street vendor has the families breadwinner mohamed and many thousands of children across syria dropped out of school so they can help their families called three ravaged by war. more planes destroyed buildings i can't go to

school i sell clothes so that i can help my parents and my brothers and sisters. has shattered lives in syria and destroyed entire neighborhoods but it's the children who are the most affected vulnerable traumatized they all work long hours . here people feel betrayed by the world activists and teachers are launching a campaign to send street children back to school. many of my students are always scared war has changed their lives the season post by government forces and poverty explain why children stop their studies five hundred children have dropped out of local schools because they need to work to help their families. many children find themselves forced to they face abuse and exploitation and risk their lives on the streets to help their families they are victims of one of the longest and deadliest

conflicts in the region. has also extended to. millions of syrians. impoverished many. years of a lost generation of children in a country where war shows no signs of. southern turkey. i still ahead on the program crunch time for catalonia regional leaders options this madrid move to take control. first at a clinic the substance abusing mothers and their children i mean it's a growing drug problem. we got plenty of piling in across western parts of here. at the moment spilling in

from the atlantic you see the next weather system just knocking on the door that will feed some other war tom the weather if a wintry weather down into central passes long a lot of clouds are we have coming out of scandinavia down across the eastern side of here through poland down across the balkans now bring some rather lively showers longer spells of friday once again they're not going away a little further eastwards temperatures behind we are struggling to get to around ten degrees celsius here as i went through weather over the outskirts covering of snow sunny possible to hear quite a few centimeters likely over the next couple of days more cloud of rain spilling in cross see british isles temperatures picking up though for london at around sixteen thousand hearts of around fifteen in paris and a touch modest still as we go on into tuesday a southwesterly wind coming in but a fair amount of cloud and right with a walk this time here it does mean rather gray skies gray skies to down towards southern parts of the balkans easing over towards that eastern side of the mediterranean we see some lively downpours coming into greece over the next day or

so a little bit of wet weather to affecting the far north of libya once again meanwhile behind that it turns fine and dry. al-jazeera recounts the shocking story of the assassination of count folk abene dot . the first u.n. envoy trying to bring peace to the middle east how is negotiations with himmler helped save thousands of jews from nazi concentration camps and how these mediation skills put him at the vanguard in the quest for peace in the middle east. killing the count at this time on al-jazeera.

again and a reminder of the top stories on al-jazeera the u.s. secretary of state is warning that found here arabia is not yet ready to begin to wreck talks with doha to resolve the gulf crisis japan's prime minister shinzo ave has swept a victory in the election after promising to strengthen toughen his stance on north korea and revive the economy. and a u.s. bikes rebel group has captured syria's largest oil field from i saw the kurdish led syrian democratic forces are in a race against the russian backed syrian troops to seize parts of the oil rich region. spain's foreign minister is urging people in catalonia not to listen to their regional leaders as madrid moves to take control of the region on saturday the spanish prime minister mariano rajoy announced measures to suspend the catalan

parliament and hold new elections under simmons reports from barcelona. this is the center of regional government and barcelona in less than a week it's set to lose its powers president and his ministers. capital madrid the mood seemed to be hardening both politically and on the streets the government has responded very well but they should have been harder article one five five should have been applied much sooner all eyes are on catalonia as president carlos pushed him on now he gave little away after the government announced its action on saturday and a mass protests followed in barcelona. parliament is expected to meet soon a declaration of independence is still an option along with the possibility of calling elections one thing is guaranteed there will be more protest action we are not going to obey the one point five article.

for we have a right for the nation and we are sure. that just there's a zone on our side in this one of the most decentralized countries in the world the spanish state and the regional government in barcelona i'm now more entrenched than ever before but what about the millions of people affected by all of this for some of them isn't as simple as choosing one side or the other parent who used to be a socialist party supporter he's been against independence but is now in a dilemma he says he's horrified by the action of mariano rajoy is government and taking power away from elected politicians they decided to apply the war scenario for is suppressing the self-government and tell to the people hey were you are going to vote again to get what you want but when we expanded government one because now i'm feeling not comfortable at all with the spanish. government or

solution but still not believe in what the independence is saying that everything is going to be fast and fantastic i don't know what what what's going to happen next week and i think going to be worst than now. after the mass protests on saturday a contrast catalan cultural events all relating to nationalism. and outside the palace housing a regional government that wants independence and old catalan nationalist songs played its lyrics romanticize the struggle for independence in reality there's nothing romantic about the situation right now and through some of those al-jazeera part of the head of the world health organization has backtracked on his appointment of zimbabwe's president robert mugabe as a goodwill ambassador it follows widespread criticism from international leaders

human rights activists and health groups they pointed to allegations of human rights abuses in zimbabwe yet scored negatively because i think maybe i would i would just need to court like what. i would spoke in government ministers in nappies and gabby's government professor jonathan morris you are saying that the for the appointment of prison the garbage they should have made or consulted and made their decision you know or somebody done to rush and appoint him and only to think if you days later that the withdrawing it from him so diplomatically it doesn't look well for the newly appointed looked at your dress so you'd want to look well and also you are coming from africa i remember in the end of august into september when zimbabwe was that. african you know that ministers

presumably he was praising him and saying that there we have all one african men that fifty men to lead their world health organization but then he says i've been. haiti conference has been held in castle to debate the plight of arab christians and the threats they're facing from growing religious intolerance in the middle east that have involved has more details. attacks on coptic churches in egypt and the forced migration of christians in iraq were among the issues discussed along with the age old issue of christian minorities living in the arab world participants at the doha institute for higher studies included university professors political scientists researchers and writers they say it's in the interest of everyone including the muslim majority to address religious persecution but you can't just separate they show the question from the rest of the region the problem of the material nobody is actually the problem of the majority and that

people don't have civil rights christians don't have. civil rights because muslims don't have civil rights to the so actually there is a problem of democracy as are there and that is and christians have lived in the middle east since the birth of christianity two thousand years ago during that time they suffered several phases of inequality and marginalization the number of christians in the middle east has fallen during the last fifteen years and fought to constitute less than three to four percent of the population compared to twenty percent a century ago everyone here agrees there is no magic wand to solve the sectarian problem in this region. but if democracy and the rule of law are allowed they can be used to redefine the role of religion in the affairs of countries the conference constantly evoked the golden era of sectarian peace during the ottoman empire when the state embraced the welfare of all religious groups on and. it led to the rise

of christian nationalist leaders and the birth of arab nationalism in the first decades of the twentieth century we try to put the issue of the question first of all interest in our statical context and second to find solutions that are not only for the questions but for the population in general including the question and i summarize it in one word equal citizenship and democracy one of the conclusions of the conference for the arab world to begin to achieve social peace and economic prosperity and you pact is needed circumvents religious distinctions and rests on common values. iran has opened its first ever clinic for drug addicted mothers because the government's shifting attitude towards drug users from treating them as criminals to realizing it's a larger issue of public health same bus ravi reports from tara. began smoking crystal meth when she was seventeen and ten years later she says she wants

a better life for herself and her baby. it was a very bad situation before i came here when my daughter was born i was addicted we had no money her father said let's leave her in the hospital but i took her and we fled the hospital without paying we had no money for milk work we were both addicted. because of her mother's drug use his little girl may have to deal with problems of her own while she seems healthy using meth during pregnancy can cause long term neurological and developmental problems and children. my daughter got taken away because of me when i quit and could get an identity card for her i was able to get her back it's been almost six months we've been living together. the clinic into her own name to rebirth has offered both mother and daughter a new lease of life. in a morning i take. we have

a normal life like a normal person at least my daughter can play with your friends and grow up in a proper manner doesn't want to show her face or use her real name because in iran drug addicts are seen as a source of shame but her story is so common the you know the ration of this government run clinic was a publicized event among the v.i.p.'s were a government minister of vice president and a gaggle of t.v. news crews a sign perhaps of the changing attitudes towards the country's major drug problem. you kind of addictions show that it's not just about poverty and unemployment lack of psychological security is the main reason for being addicted in urban societies this is true all around the world including our country and a message to iranians that the government has started treating drug use less like a crime and more like a public health problem that has a cure. you know first isn't media we should spread information so you can be informed and chose the right path many young people say they didn't

know about impacts and harms of drugs we have to inform them that it is something that will hurt their future. housing a municipal building next to a park in the old part of the city the clinic gives parents a chance to get better and reunite with their kids. there's even an ambulance that patrols the streets in search of drug users to help. the women receive support from social workers and they're able to help each other it's a chance for these kids to retain their innocence and for their mothers to reclaim a little bit of theirs is in basra zero to one on his hail the national hero by some and a tyrant by others but while he may be divisive there is no doubting that former leader napoleon bonaparte continues to be a source of fascination for the french and new exhibition is opened in the town about us which hopes to restore his reputation to reports from paris with his

determined steely gaze and distinctive hat napoleon bonaparte is one of french history's most recognizable figures a brilliant general he forged his destiny in the french revolution crowned imprint thirty five he went on to dominate europe but while many french people regard napoleon as a hero others say he's a source of shame a tyrant and a cruel war monger curators hope a new exhibition in northern france will help restore his reputation as a military and political visionary if. you have a pretty rebuilt france after the revolution of course there are parts of history that are hard to accept poland's with or tear inside and his desire to conquer europe if people have fallen out of love with the polian it's because these days we value peace and we're not accustomed to wars like people were in his time. napoleon transformed france he created many of its institutions and his napoleonic code

still defined civil war across much of europe for visitors here his legacy is clear on the. pole he was a great figure of french history we owe him a lot our institutions and our schools. in troubled times he built an empire and restored order napoleon's tomb is under the sumptuous dome of the lead in paris it's one of the capital's most visited sites a testimony to his enduring appeal napoleons youth and ambition his love of symbols and his focus on europe have led many people in france to draw parallels with presidents. like napoleon presents himself as a man of the moment one who can restore french glory. france's youngest president also promises to transform france and restore its prestige historians say macros regal leadership style can be traced back to napoleon. or an

embedded what an historian once called the myth of the savior in world war two shallow was seen as a savior let's see if. but there is no doubt french presidential elections focus on one person we can fix everything and that is part of lebanon's legacy the exhibition in ass is called images of a legend whether those visiting will see napoleon as a genius and a reformer or an ambitious autocrat will depend on their perspective but it's clear that more than two centuries after his death napoleon bonaparte continues to fascinate natasha butler al-jazeera paris. remember you can find out much more about many of the stories we're covering on our air by going to our website address is al jazeera dot com al-jazeera dot com for your latest news and sport.

undermined of the headlines on al-jazeera the u.s. secretary of state is warning that saudi arabia is not yet ready to begin direct talks with doha to resolve the gulf crisis rex tillerson was speaking in castle hours after meeting the saudi leaders is that it wasn't for the u.s. to impose a solution gulf countries had to find one and selves with respect to the talks getting underway yes i did in my meetings with the crown prince mohammed bin samarra i asked him to please and gauge the pleasing gauge in dialogue. there is not a strong indication that parties are ready to talk yet. and so we cannot force talks about people who are not ready to talk so there has been no invitation to the white house because it's not clear that parties are ready to engage but we're going to continue to work towards that dialogue and towards that engagement japan's prime

minister shinzo abyei has swept to victory in the snap election after promising to toughen his stance on north korea and revive the economy faster results they are those worrying coalition has already won two hundred sixty four seats that easily surpasses a simple majority in the four hundred sixty five seat parliament the u.s. backed rebel group has captured syria's largest oil field from eisel the kurdish led syrian democratic forces are in a race against russian backed syrian troops to seize parts of the oil rich region spain's foreign minister is urging people in catalonia not to listen to their regional leaders madrid moves to take control of the region two governments remain in political deadlock over catalonia controversial referendum on secession. the head of the world health organization has backtracked on his appointment of the president robert mugabe as a goodwill ambassador it follows widespread criticism from international leaders human rights activists and health groups. and the russian opposition leader alexina

. hours after being released from prison he was jailed for twenty days for organizing protests against president vladimir putin. and those are the latest headlines up next his talk to al-jazeera where we speak to kenyans about the urban transformation effect capital nairobi stay with us. welcome to talk to al-jazeera in the field with me barnaby phillips in the kenyan.